The present invention relates to dental apparatus and pertains particularly to a combination oral evacuation device and mouth prop.
During dental work such as the drilling and grinding of teeth a cooling fluid, such as water, is typically sprayed onto the area being drilled or ground for cooling purposes. The fluid also serves as a washing fluid for washing away particles produced by the drilling or grinding process.
It is necessary to constantly remove this fluid during this process. It is also desirable during this time that the mouth be held open and the tongue be held away from the area of work. Numerous mouth evacuation devices and tongue shields have been proposed in the past. However, these have numerous drawbacks and efforts to combine the two have met with very limited success.
One problem with such previous devices is that no adequate means for holding the evacuation device in place has been found. Another problem is that such devices have been complicated and difficult to use.
For this reason the current practice is the use of a hook like evacuation tube which hooks over the teeth of the lower jaw, with the end extending into the lower mouth for evacuation of fluids therefrom. Such device has only a limited intake area and can become quite uncomfortable. It is also necessary during such procedures for the patient to hold the mouth open for work by the dentist. It is also necessary for the dentist or his assistant to hold the tongue to the side with a tongue depressor or the like during the grinding and drilling operation.
Accordingly, it is desirable that some means be available which is easy and convenient to use for the purpose of oral evacualtion, tongue shielding and holding the jaws open.